Roccat Kone Pro Air review: a jaw-droppingly good-looking gaming mouse

To sum up this Roccat Kone Pro Air review: this wireless gaming mouse is a looker, that’s for sure. Evolving on the Roccat Kone Pro’s winning formula, this gives you completely wire-free gaming through the effective dual wireless system. 

If you’re looking to give your whole setup a refresh then take a look at T3’s guides to the best gaming mice, gaming keyboards and even best gaming headsets for more. You could even go one step further with one of the best gaming monitors.

I won’t beat about the bush, the Roccat Kone Pro Air is one of my favourite wireless gaming mice out there right now, and it won’t look out of place in a home office either. Read on to find out more about it. 

Roccat Kone Pro Air review: price and what’s different 

Available to buy now in black or white, the Roccat Kone Pro Air will set you back $130 in the US, £120 in the UK and AU$190 in Australia. Take a look at the widgets on this page for more recent pricing from across the web, there are often some great deals on the Roccat Kone Pro Air. 

This gaming mouse doesn’t come cheap, so how is it different to the more affordable Roccat Kone Pro? 

While they may look identical, the Roccat Kone Pro Air is a wireless mouse whereas the Roccat Kone Pro isn’t. That has a knock-on effect on other aspects of the rodent, like the fact that the Roccat Kone Pro Air is actually about 9g heavier than the Roccat Kone Pro, although you do have to remember you won’t be restricted by a wire so you win some, you lose some. When it comes to the build and hardware, they're just about the same. 

Roccat Kone Pro Air review: design and setup 

The Roccat Kone Pro Air is ergonomically designed so that your right hand sits snugly over it, whether you’re someone with a palm or claw grip. The grips on both sides ensure that the mouse stays securely in your hand even through the most aggressive play, that's thanks to the deep indent for your thumb to rest on and the rigged surface which helps to prevent slips. 

Underneath the solid plastic exterior, there is a honeycomb design to reduce the weight. At 75g, it’s not the lightest gaming mouse or even the lightest wireless gaming mouse out there, but it is still pretty lightweight. Using it over long gaming sessions or even during the day for work, the mouse felt comfortable and fuss-free. 

Because of that smooth design on the outside, the mouse keeps out dirt and is very easy to clean. You also get AIMO RGB lighting shining through the front, which reveals the honeycomb pattern that lies beneath the surface. There’s up to 16.8 million colours and I think it looks great. It’s sure to add a smart edge to your rig especially if you synchronise it with your other Roccat kit. 

The two Titan Optical switches are big and hard to miss. Sitting in the middle is the Titan scroll wheel made from solid aluminium, and on the left side of the mouse are the two side buttons which are defaulted to forward and back controls but you can change what they do on the Roccat Swarm software. There’s no dedicated DPI switch here so you’ll have to use the software to adjust that as well. 

On the underside of the mouse, there’s a profile button that lets you cycle through 5 different customisable profiles, you can set these up on the desktop software. It’s a bit of a weird placement for the profile switch, it’s not particularly accessible or fast to use. 

Getting the mouse up and running can be done in a couple of different ways using the dual wireless system, the easiest and most reliable way is by removing the tiny USB from the bottom and slotting it into your computer giving you fast and reliable 2.4GHz gaming. The other way is through Bluetooth, although I would say that’s best used for working or scrolling through the web, as you will get some lag if you use that for gameplay.

I rarely had to charge up the Roccat Kone Pro Air, and no wonder, Roccat claims the mouse will last over 100 hours of gaming. And when it does run out, a 10-minute charge will give you up to 5 hours of use. That’s impressive.

You can also connect the mouse to your PC using a wired connection if you wanted to, it comes with a braided 1.8m PhantomFlex USB-2 to USB-C charging cable which feels super flexible.

Roccat Kone Pro Air review: performance 

Well suited to eSports, the Roccat Kone Pro Air uses the Roccat Owl-Eye optical sensor which can reach 19K DPI with 50g acceleration. It has 1,000Hz polling rate and adjustable lift-off sensitivity as well. 

You may not make use of the full DPI capabilities but knowing they’re there is definitely a good thing. All of that combined made for fast, responsive and precise tracking so you’ll definitely be able to use this for competitive gaming. 

Similarly, the optical switches make for a reliable click each time, and with a 100 million click life cycle, they’re durable too. I didn’t have any problems with accidental clicks in the weeks that I was using this mouse. Likewise, the titan scroll wheel produces a tactile click and accurate scroll. Elsewhere, the heat-treated glides on the underside of the Roccat Kone Pro Air are incredibly smooth, you feel as though you’re floating across the mousepad. 

When it comes to the Roccat Swarm software, there’s plenty of control over the mouse's settings, whether you’re an advanced gamer or you’re just there for fun. You can adjust everything from the button assignment, DPI settings and RGB lighting to angle-snapping, polling rate and zero debounce. 

Roccat Kone Pro Air review: verdict 

If you already own Roccat gaming peripherals and you’re on the hunt for a wireless gaming mouse, then the Roccat Kone Pro Air is a no-brainer because you can synchronise the RGB lights with your other compatible devices. Your gaming setup will never have looked so good. 

The sleek, lightweight design not only looks the part but it plays the part too, offering plenty in the way of speed and accuracy, all without the fuss of a wire. 

While there’s no dock included here, you’ll rarely have to plug it in because you get a whopping 100 hours between charges - wireless gaming doesn’t get much better than this. 

Roccat Kone Pro Air review: also consider  

Admittedly, this is a very pricey mouse and not everyone will be willing to spend so much on it. If you already own Roccat devices then a cheaper option to consider is the Roccat Kone Pure Ultra. You won’t get a massive RGB show, nor is it wireless but it is light and ergonomic. 

If you don’t already own other RGB-lit peripherals then the best gaming mouse for most people is the Razer DeathAdder V2. It’s a pro-level gaming mouse with an incredible 20,000 DPI, in-depth configuration software, ridiculous response time and not to mention the comfortable ergonomic design. It is a wired mouse, though. 

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